Quantum Communications at Local and Global Scales

Mohsen Razavi

Prof. Mohsen Razavi
School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
University of Leeds, United Kingdom

Abstract

Data security in the quantum era can be one of the key challenges that telecom operators will face in the coming years. With the recent trend in advanced quantum computing machines, the need for implementing alternative solutions for secure communications - those that do not rely on computational complexity assumptions - has become more urgent. This would be of special interest in scenarios that forward secrecy, or long-term security, is a requirement. Fortunately, there is a possible solution to this problem, known as quantum key distribution (QKD), whose security relies on the laws of physics as we understand them by quantum mechanics. QKD is the most advanced of solutions offered by quantum cryptography, which enables two users to securely exchange a shared secret key. This can, in principle, resolve the security issues that threatens the public-key cryptography schemes. In practice, however, a large-scale deployment of QKD in our current infrastructure will face certain challenges. This will nevertheless provide many opportunities for engineers and scientists alike to harness the power of quantum mechanics for our daily applications. In this talk, I will give an overview of efforts that have been taken to make QKD accessible to end users via optical wireless communications schemes, all the way through to how the backbone networks could be enhanced, in multiple phases, to accommodate a global quantum communications network. Along the way, I will provide examples of ongoing projects across the world moving toward this ambitious goal. I will conclude by highlighting how engineering disciplines can contribute to this exciting endeavor.

Brief Bio

Mohsen Razavi received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, in 1998 and 2000, and his PhD from MIT, in 2006. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo until September 2009, when he joined the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds, where he is now an Associate Professor. He is a recipient of the Marie-Curie International Reintegration Grant. He organized the first International Workshop on Quantum Communication Networks in 2014. He is the Coordinator of the European Innovative Training Network, QCALL, which aims at providing quantum communications services to all users. He is also a member of the Quantum Communications Hub in the UK and the ISG on QKD in ETSI. He has authored a book on quantum communications networks in IOP Concise Physics series.